Urgent Help Needed: Democratic Republic of the Congo Crisis
An important message I received that needs to be shared:
Dear Humanitarians,
Annabel Wong, Sarina Rehal, and I, Tanja Bergen are all University of British Columbia students. We were working on a school project on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) when the recent crisis erupted. We had been researching Canada’s involvement in the DRC and strongly believe that our government, right now, has a duty to alleviate the extreme human suffering in this region.
We began our efforts last Wednesday by creating a message that outlines why we believe that immediate action from our government is required and how we propose to act. We also emailed a number of NGOs and government officials in the hopes of creating a coalition united in the belief that the Canadian Government must act to address the situation. We have called our coalition the Africa Canada Accountability Coalition (ACAC) to embody this message. We really didn’t know what to expect.
At this time, we have received formal support from the following organizations: Oxfam, Canadian Students for Darfur, UBC Africa Awareness Initiative, Caribbean African Association UBC, Hillel House UBC, STAND UBC, WUSC UBC, and the Alma Mater Society of UBC.
We invite you to read our letter and if you agree with our proposals, you can show support by:
· Replying to this email and indicating your desire to become a supporting organization of the ACAC and to be added to the list serve; please append your name to the bottom of our message.
· Formally endorsing our message and informing your members and everyone you know about the situation in the DRC.
· Distributing our message to all of your contacts and adding it to your organization’s public domains.
· Contacting politicians and expressing your organizations support of our message.
· Contacting politicians and expressing your personal support of our message.
· Personally attending our events.
The crisis is worsening every day and we need your help to create a strong unified voice that will be taken seriously by our government and media. We are issuing a call to action; we beseech you, please respond.
Sincerely,
Tanja Bergen, ACAC Executive Director
C: 604 802 7698
Annabel Wong, ACAC Executive Director
C: 778 995 7014
Sarina Rehal – ACAC Executive Director
C: 604 728 2087
Email: acac.drcongo@gmail.com
Blogspot: http://acacdrcongo.blogspot.com/
Dear ________________________________________________________________:
I am contacting you as a concerned Canadian about the recent events in the North Kivu province in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The situation in the eastern DRC is part of a larger conflict that has to date killed over 5 million people. Recent fighting between rebels and the DRC government forces have caused hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee to the city of Goma in the North Kivu province. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the violence was “creating a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic dimensions.” The rebels’, led by General Laurent Nkunda, stated goal is to protect the Tutsi community from attack by Rwandan Hutu rebels, some of whom are accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide. Currently, there is a ceasefire. However, the large volume of displaced persons who have crowded into Goma, the rebels reportedly forcing civilians to leave the refugee camps to which they have fled for safety, and the portion of government troops who are reportedly looting and attacking civilians render this ceasefire fragile. This conflict could kill thousands of more people and has links to the Rwandan genocide. As human beings and Canadians, we have no choice but to act.
There is precedent for Canadian intervention in this region. In 2004, Canada participated in Operation Artemis, an EU/France led mission created at the request of Kofi Anaan to secure the town of Bunia in the Eastern DRC. This mission was deployed within seven days of the EU’s decision to intervene at the request of the UN. Operation Artemis secured the distribution of food aid in the town of Bunia, saving thousands of lives. Infrastructure, such as roads, is poorly developed in the DRC and Canada gave an invaluable contribution of tactical aircraft to Operation Artemis that ensured the successful allocation of aid.
Like in 2004, it is vital that Canada is proactive and offers help in the DRC. Canada may be able to contribute the following:
· Food aid and clean water. Currently Canada contributed $33 million in 2006/07 to CIDA projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This must be increased, particularly to Médicins sans frontières, who are already in the Kivu and Ituri provinces. There are hundreds of thousands of lives at stake and it is necessary for access to humanitarian aid to be secured and guaranteed;
· Tactical air craft, at a minimum level of support supplied to Operation Artemis to facilitate the transfer of aid;
· Desperately needed police officers to MONUC, the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, using the RCMP’s International Peace Operations Branch. Rape has consistently been used as a weapon of war in this conflict and MONUC has had problems with peacekeepers’ sexual misconduct with civilians. It is crucial that police officers are aware of this and trained to respond accordingly;
· Any political support requested by relevant parties to facilitate talks between the rebel groups and the government of the DRC in the goal of maintaining the ceasefire, finding a political solution, and peacefully ending this conflict.
Canada has been asked to lead an intervention several times over the last ten years in the eastern DRC by the UN, and with the exception of our involvement with Artemis, we have refused. As a major trading partner of the DRC, we must assume our leadership role and respond proactively. As part of the international community, Canada must immediately engage in high-level diplomacy to stop the violence and give a new impulse to the regional peace process. If you do not believe these initiatives are plausible, I would like to know how you think Canada can help to stop the mayhem occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I ask that you respond as soon as possible, given that crisis in the DRC is imminent.
This letter is created by the Africa Canada Accountability Coalition and has the support of Oxfam, Canadian Students for Darfur, UBC Africa Awareness Initiative, Caribbean African Association UBC, Hillel House UBC, STAND UBC, WUSC UBC, and the Alma Mater Society of UBC.
Sincerely,
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